Rare Bird-Flu Outbreak Jumps to Mammals at Wildlife Center

The virus also infected poultry plant workers in Russia earlier this year

A swan swims through a lake in the grounds of Osterley Park, a National Trust property in Isleworth Middlesex, west of London, on April 7, 2006. Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images

By Entrepreneur Staff

As the world continues to grapple with the effects of COVID-19, a small but concerning virus has also started to make headlines: the H5N8 bird flu strain, which killed five swans, three seals, and a fox at an unnamed U.K. wildlife rehabilitation center in late 2020, according to a recent report.

The same virus also infected poultry workers in Russia in February of 2021. H5N8 is one of a few rare strains—including H5N1, H7N9 and H5N6—that can make the leap from birds to people.